Patience rewarded at Marblehead Junior Race Week

Marblehead, MA (July 21, 2015) – Day 2 of Marblehead Junior Race Week started with a postponement while race officials and 313 sailors gazed out at a glassy Marblehead Harbor and waited for the southeasterly wind to build. Racing commenced mid-day and several of the four starting lines got in four or more races.

In the 40-boat 420 Championship fleet, Joseph Chomyn and Parker Swanson from Harraseeket YC held onto first place. With 7 races sailed, they have a 10-point lead over Rowan Byrne and Gillian Winn in second. Griffin Primeau and Carly Siemen from Harraseeket YC dropped to a tenuous third place with 37 points. Nate Tedford and Annabelle Ayer from Pleon YC are close behind with 39 points.

Hingham YC teams continued their battle on the 40-boat 420 Green line. Francis Cundari and Tyler Buckeridge dropped to 4th, but are tied on points for 3rd. Ben Monnich and Grace Taylor lead the fleet with 18 points, while an interesting match up has developed between 2nd and 3rd. Just one point separates Kayleen Hill and Sydney Langenhagen from the team of Michael Hill and Morgan Langerhagen. There must be some competitive Hill-Langenhagen family dynamics going on as they head into the final day of racing.

On the 70-boat Opti Championship line, two of the three divisions had leaderboard changes. With 8 races sailed and one day left in the regatta, Eliza Dunn of Hingham jumped ahead in the Blue Division standings with 76 points but it’s far from solid. Haley Nelson of Hingham is just behind her with 80 points, and third-place Benjamin Trotsky of Sandy Bay YC is right in there with 81 points.

Magdelaina Putnam from Pleon Yacht Club put in all top 10 finishes on Day 2 to vault her into first place in the 19-boat Opti Champ Red Division and Opti Champ overall. Hayden Van Alstine from Portland YC, ME dropped to third and Grace Gear from Agamenticus YC crushed the day with three bullets and a 3rd which moved her into second. Gear trails Putnam by just 4 points going into the final day.

Leopold Seuss of Pleon YC continued to put in a consistent performance in Opti Champ White, while Sean McCaffrey from Quannapowitt YC and William Decker from Hingham YC battle it out for second and third place with just four points separating them.

It’s tight racing in the 26-boat Opti Green Even Division. Ashley Hoguet of Pleon is in the lead on a tie-breaker. After 6 races, Hoguet and Charlie Pingree, also from Pleon, have 12 points and Reid Hamilton from Eastern Yacht Club has 13 points. In the 34-boat Odd Division, Jack Wieman from Manchester Sailing Association has all 1st and 2nd place finishes to lead with 7 points. Jamie Gabbay of Annisquam Yacht Club is just behind with 8 points, and Jack Homa is in third with 13 points.

In the 17-boat Laser Radial class, Caleb Robinson from Sail Maine held onto first place with five bullets in 9 races. He goes into the final day with 15 points overall. Reid Shanabrook from Pleon YC jumped into 2nd place with 22 points just ahead of William Bedfort from Pleon YC who has 23.

Mason Cheney of Pleon YC is currently throwing out a 2 after 9 races in the Laser 4.7 fleet. He leads fellow Pleon sailor Nils Skaane by a wide margin. Mason’s sister, Morgan Cheney is in third with 27 points, 6 points behind Skaane.

Wednesday (July 22) is the final day of Marblehead Junior Race Week. The forecast shows a moderate north-westerly, so officials should be able to get off several races, providing plenty of opportunity for some shakeups.

Event details – Results